It’s that time of year – holiday spirit is in full swing, presents under the Christmas tree, and that one uncle keeps talking about politics at the table.
While the wish lists for Santa were sent long ago because of the big guy’s arrival last night, we here at Blue Jays Nation came together to put up a Christmas wish list.
However, instead of wishing for Christmas presents under the tree, we put together a wish list of things we want the Blue Jays to do this offseason – players, signings, and even a giveaway idea or two.
Adam Peddle: I want these two contracts: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension for 12 years/$480 million and bringing home Teoscar Hernández (I predict 3 years/$80 million).
Brendon Kuhn: The two things I want most for Christmas are a Vladdy extension, and a Corbin Burnes signing.
For Vladdy, I don’t think this process has been as catastrophic from the front office as the general fan base has convinced themselves. He’s been a hard player to place a value on, with better-than-great offensive seasons to his name, terrible baserunning, and a defensive position at the bottom of the value spectrum, a position that the sport has not paid nearly the same as others. Vladdy, through prospect status, immense talent and a wealthy background, has almost certainly always seen himself in the light of the very best in baseball. His love of Toronto seems genuine, but it’s also easy to see how viewing himself as Tatis (an example) was something the org could never really line up with him on….until this offseason. Now, suddenly, Vlad has all this perceived leverage with a return to elite offensive production, the Soto contract and fan backlash doing him wonders. The stars have aligned for him in almost every way. And while I don’t think the market for him would be that large next offseason (I have a hard time seeing an RHH 1B attracting a bidding war amongst many teams that drives well past $400M), he still sits in a very enviable position. I’ve had a hard time valuing Vladdy over the years, but at the end of the day, I want him here forever. Corbin Burnes fits the Jays really well, beyond just the fact that he’s clearly a top-tier pitcher in the sport. Despite the perception being that the Jays need hitting way more than pitching, a front-line starter would do the Jays wonders for several reasons. 1) It makes the 2025 rotation that much better, sliding every other arm down one spot, or giving the Jays room to shop someone like Bassitt and to re-allocate his salary to the offense
2) If all starters are retained, it puts Yariel in the bullpen, adding to an area of need and putting him in position to excel 3) A starter going deep into games gives the pen a rest and limits the need to be using the low-end guys in games as often, a clear win after watching the 2024 Blue Jays!
4) It covers the starters who come off the books in the next two years (Bassitt after 2025, Gausman after 2026, and Berríos after 2026 if he triggers his opt-out)Burnes makes all the sense in the world for the Jays, and I’d love to see him wearing Blue in 2025.
Veronica Chung: Even after making a couple of moves this offseason, the Blue Jays desperately need to bring in more players either through free-agent signings or trades to boost their rosters.
As our colleague Ian Hunter said, Toronto now ranked 23rd in its starting rotation among all 30 teams last year. It’s imperative for the team to now bring in a solid starter to inject much-needed relief as we head into the 2025 season. The bad news though is the starting pitching market has already been quite active so far and the Blue Jays are quickly running out of options. At this point, they either need to go hard into someone like Corbin Burnes or go with an under-the-radar signing to stay with the hyper-competitive AL East division.
If there is another area Toronto has to improve, it’s also adding a thump in the lineup that can generate power. For the past two seasons, the Blue Jays offence couldn’t deliver offensively when they needed it the most and have recorded frustrating results, which led to their crashout in the playoffs. This year, they got eliminated from contention altogether as offence and pitching all faltered severely. Taking a risk with a power bat is no longer an option – it’s a must at this point if the team even wants to sniff at the competition for a playoff spot in the tougher American League. Many teams have risen to the challenges, including the American League Central – this is no longer a child’s play.